The Dunning-Kruger Effect

I have often been through stages where I have trained for long periods by myself. At the end of these periods I have often thought that I have made a real break through in strength only to realize that this is not at all true when I am completely schooled on going out with someone else. I hadn't realized until reading this post that it is quite a common misconception in general and is called the Dunning-Kruger effect.

So the learning is training in isolation is dangerous if you benchmark yourself mentally against what you think is good performance. Malcolm Smith seems to have been fairly successful in training in isolation so it is definitely possible but just be careful not to over estimate the effect.

Edelrid Mantle Crash Pad

I just got my new Edelrid Mantle crash pad and can’t wait to get out and use it; especially given my current projects is a serious highball! The pad has some great features that are very useful hence me choosing it. The most impressive for me is that the 2 halves can be zipped together either on the length or width of the pad giving you more versatility than normal (especially useful if you need to pad out a traverse or long roof problems). In addition the Edelrid guys throw in a Sit Start launch pad which is something that sets this deal apart from other crash pads quite nicely (The Edelrid Dead Point and Crux crash pads also come with a Sit Start launch pad).The logo on the pad is made from a  carpet type material which is perfect for cleaning your shoes on before going for that hard send.

 Pic: The Edelrid Mantle Crash Pad

Some more technical info: It is 10 cm thick using 2 different foams to offer optimal cushioning and absorption. The outer material is strong ballistic nylon which provides a robust and water-repellent shell (useful for wet Rocklands and Topside days). As I said above the two halves can be zipped together either on the long side (120 x 115 cm), or on the end (230 x 60 cm). The Mantle has sturdy shoulder straps and indestructible aluminum buckles.

 Pic: Me putting the Edelrid Sit Start launch pad to use

Down with the sickness

I am good at setting goals for myself and disciplined enough to stick to them. But unfortunately when I really get in to training I tend to push it too far - the result being a forced lay-off due to tweakiness or flu. Having been in a great space for the last 3 months I succumbed to both forcing me to find ways to tread water for a while - i place I really dislike!

Reading this blog post has made me more thoughtful about what my indicators are and if it is possible to stop before it is too late?

Urban Ninja lists the following:

1. Sugar – when I am close to the limit, I crave sugar.
2. KFC – nothing beats a Boxmaster Deluxe Upsize with a Chocolate Shake when I am feeling on the edge. Its a sure sign I need to back off.
3. Erratic sleep – I will be dead tired by 8pm and ready for bed but when I get to bed I sleep badly. My body is so broken I can’t sleep properly. This happens to me a few times a year, but that’s only because me + music + forests = totally overdoing it.
4. Hiding from the world – I will go into a cocoon when I am overdoing it, avoiding people, socializing and crowds of people. Insert me into society and I tend to be short and upsetting to those around me.

 Pic: Sourced from Urban Ninja - Lance pushing it.

Some obvious ones for me are general lethargy, lack of psyche and tweakiness (Shoulders, elbows and fingers). Lack of sleep is definitely another, and often pre flu/cold I have an unquenchable thirst. Any others?

Whats difficult I find though is to judge when to stop or when to push through, especially with tweakiness. From what I have read it is often better to drop intensity then to stop altogether as light exercise stimulates blood flow which helps recovery. This is currently the approach I am testing so for now no more beastly BM sessions with repeaters - strictly a diet of 35 degree slopers and bouldering on holds that aren't too painful.

Power fitness supplements

Over and above my 2 system board sessions I also have included 2 power fitness supplements using my Beastmaker. The first is more power endurance focused using the Ethan Pringle 20 minute moderate hangboard session. The second using repeaters is pure power fitness and focuses on finger strength.

My current repeater routine is as follows:

          Grip  (Hold - Style - Weight)

1. Front 2  (Small pocket - Repeater - none)
2. Middle 2  (Small pocket - Repeater - none)
3. Back 2  (Back 2 pocket - Repeater - none)
4. Half crimp  (Crimp rung - Encores - none)
5. Full hand  (35 sloper - Pullup x5 - 6kgs)
6. Crimp  (My mids - Pullup x5 - 6kgs)

So far I am finding this routine quite hard and am failing on go 4 for the 2 finger repeaters, but that was second day on after bouldering the day before so a little rest may help.

Power endurance redux

Initial reaction to my thoughts on power endurance using a system board has been mixed but I have come to a realization that it is mostly a semantic issue. To overcome the confusion I am now calling my original power endurance “power fitness”. Using this term it becomes my evident as to what my objective for this phase is – i.e. to maximise my ability to access full power for as long as possible. This means that I have more strong attempts on a problem in a day.

After bouncing some thoughts this week I am starting to get a clearer picture of what is required. Moreover a week in to my new system board routine is showing me that I am on the right track for my overall objective for this cycle. However I do feel that there is a need to include some hangboarding and have therefore also included a Ethan Pringle hangboard session to maximise focus on true power endurance and a repeater session to focus on finger strength specific power endurance.

The routine currently goes as follows:
Monday – System board session
Tuesday – Ethan Pringle session
Wednesday – System board session
Thursday – Repeater session (done on Friday if I feel tweaky)

Power training

After I have laid a foundation of hypertrophy the next step is to maximise recruitment. Getting the balance right is tough because you want to be at your strength limit to ensure the intensity is there but at the same time the exercise needs to be simple enough so that your failure is not due to engram issues or technique. For this reason my preference is to use a hangboard as this probably one of the most specific and simple tools available to a climber. This also means that performance is easily recorded and tracked.

Using advice I have gained from the Beastmaker boys, my preference for this stage is to utilise one arm hangs where possible using a pulley system to allow all manner of grips to be trained (note – I am currently unable to do a one arm hang on back 2 no matter the weight I take off so I am forced to use 2 arms). For me the golden number is 5 seconds; I can’t recall where I got this from but it is now my standard. My routine exists of front 2 and middle 2 hangs currently on the medium pockets and a full crimp hang on the middle crimp on both left and right arms. I allow myself 3 minutes rest in between repetitions and sets. My intended progression is to work up to a point where I need less weight off and then move towards using smaller grips and eventually drop down to one finger grips.

Although this routine seems simple, the basic nature of it is also beneficial as you can isolate each grip type and focus in on pure power. Results are also highly measurable which is motivating - where one arm 2 finger hangs seemed impossible at first I have since been able to manage a 2 second middle 2 hang on my right arm without any weight taken off which is real progress.

I have been toying of adding in system board sessions using a weight belt. I have only tried this sporadically to date so still need to test its long term benefit but theoretically it would be a useful way to work other grips (i.e. pinches, compression etc). My current plan however is to use the system board for power endurance and general strength rather after having completed my hypertrophy and power cycles.

*If you have difficulty in understanding my reference to grip types then refer to the Beastmaker website.

What constitutes power endurance?

My recent internal mental debate has centered around “what is power endurance”, “how does it apply to bouldering” and what is the most effective way to train it? For sport climbing where the level of moves may not be as intense, using interval training could be sufficient as long as you get the circuits rights and don’t rely too heavily on using the same circuit where practice effect starts to lead to diminished returns. Bouldering on the other hand requires more power and less of the endurance… Some solutions include repeaters (see the Beastmaker website) and the “Ethan Pringle” (EP) session both of which use a hangboard. I feel that both of these are great tools, and I have used them extensively but their long term benefits I feel are limited given their simplicity and highly isolated focus. Given that my previous hypertrophy and power cycles exclusively focus on hangboarding, my feeling is that using a hangboard for my power endurance cycle as well would limit the trainings overall transference to rock performance. I do however feel that it is a crucial supplement which I inject in to my training from time to time.

At the end of last year my power endurance training focused on repeaters and the EP session. At that time I had just completed Boogie Nights (18 move power endurance problem) and had been training specifically for that so my power endurance was at an all time high so currently I am somewhat undecided on how best to approach this. Since I haven’t fully utilised my system board yet my decision has been to focus on this for the current power endurance cycle. This will allow me to cover a greater spectrum of movement and hopefully a more rock applicable power endurance also biased towards bouldering and not sport climbing. I have settled on 2 sets of 20 system board routines/problems which focus on an array of movements and grip types (crimps, gastons, layaways, underclings, pinches and compression). I am attempting to do 2 repetitions for each problem by this could prove too much! The rationale for the 2 sets of problems is to accommodate for the practice effect I referred to earlier. In addition I will supplement these sessions with a repeater session at least once a week.

 Pic: My system board